Manufacturing news briefs - stories you might have missed

Manufacturing news briefs — stories you might have missed

27 February 2025 13:28

By Staff Reporter

Industry-research team progresses DAC technology

The Woodside Monash Energy Partnership is advancing carbon reuse and recycling through a Direct Air Capture (DAC) innovation, designed to help carbon dioxide commodity users rapidly decarbonise, according to a statement on Tuesday from Australia’s Economic Accelerator (AEA.) The DAC project, which has been supported by a AEA Seed grant, is developing modular units able to “directly capture carbon dioxide from the air and repurpose it for on-site use… for use in industries like biomanufacturing, agriculture and synthetic fuel production”. The project involves industry partners Woodside Energy and Bondi Bio, as well as Monash and Queensland universities to combine academic excellence and industry know-how. “The AEA Seed Grant has been crucial in advancing our DAC2BIO initiative, helping us fast-track both development and commercialisation of our technology,” said project lead and Monash University’s first Industry Doctoral PhD (IDP) candidate, Evangeline Leong.

Next Crop program sees “once-off expansion” for 2025

Coonawarra Grape and Wine, Barossa Australia, Wine Victoria and the Queensland Wine Industry Association have been selected to deliver the Next Crop leadership program in 2025. For the first time, Next Crop will be offered in the Coonawarra wine region and Queensland. It is also returning to the Barossa, while Victoria’s program will focus on the Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula and Gippsland. Funded by Wine Australia, Next Crop enables wine regions to design and deliver leadership development tailored to their unique needs, and is typically delivered in two or three regions each year, though a “once-off expansion to four in 2025” reflected the priorities of the One Grape & Wine Sector Plan, said Wine Australia. “Next Crop aims to build confidence in regionally based emerging leaders across the grape and wine sector, providing development opportunities to support their career interests and to foster broader leadership engagements within region, or beyond,” said Jo Hargreaves, Senior Program Manager at Wine Australia.

ACCI urges election campaign spending restraint

Business network the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has urged the major parties to show restraint this election campaign when it comes to spending. In a statement on Wednesday, ACCI said government spending has blown out, reaching historically high levels, and big commitments should not be made “that add to the existing problem.” CEO Andrew McKellar said upped spending “will put pressure on future governments to increase taxation to pay the resulting debt”, adding that current spending has surged to an expected 27.2 per cent of GDP next financial year. “Parties have the right to prioritise spending in areas that they see fit, but the overall spending envelope must be responsible – that is currently not the case,” he said.

Gelion gets three new US patents

Anglo-Australian battery company Gelion has announced that it has been granted three patents in the United States related to the company’s core Lithium-Sulfur (LiS) technology and the acceptance of one of its recycling patent applications by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). In a statement on Wednesday, Gelion said its LiS IP portfolio now includes over 200 patents and patent applications across 44 families, covering anode, cathode, electrolyte, battery design/manufacturing, and battery management ensuring end-to-end protection across the entire Li-S battery value chain. CEO John Wood said: “Gelion’s scientists and engineers are diligently advancing our leadership in Sulfur battery technology as we unlock its full potential… Patent grants serve as a testament to our innovation, and we actively develop, review, and refine (including consolidation of areas where we assess value does not merit cost) our portfolio to maximise and concentrate value. Our focus remains on building a high-quality IP portfolio that strengthens our commercial objectives.”

NSW government supports three new long-duration storage projects

The NSW government announced on Thursday that it is supporting three new long-duration storage projects through a NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap tender round, with a pumped hydro project and two large-scale battery projects backed. The projects are the Stoney Creek Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in Narrabri and Griffith BESS in Yoogali, and the ACEN Phoenix Pumped Hydro Energy Storage project, the first pumped hydro project to be successful in the Roadmap tender program, located near Lake Burrendong. Combined, the awarded projects represent 1.03 gigawatts or 13.79 gigawatt hours of energy storage capacity, in excess of the tender’s indicative target of 1 gigawatt. The successful projects can each continuously dispatch electricity for at least eight hours, according to the statement, and the Lake Burrendong project offers a storage capacity equivalent to around 15 hours duration.

Myriota launches new 5G NTN service for remote sensing

Adelaide-based satellite company Myriota announced the expansion of its connectivity portfolio on Wednesday with the launch of Myriota HyperPulse, described as “a 3GPP 5G-based Narrowband Non-Terrestrial Network (NB-NTN) service built in partnership with Viasat, a global leader in satellite infrastructure.” According to Myriota, HyperPulse customers will benefit from Viasat’s global, highly-reliable geostationary L-band network and 3GPP-compliant spectrum, along with Myriota’s hybrid network management platform and power optimised LPWA (low power, wide area) satellite connectivity technology, with “a connectivity solution ready… to apply in the real world, experiencing the benefits of standards-based, satellite-driven connectivity optimised specifically for IoT.” A service designed to be fully 3GPP compliant in the global IoT market is an important milestone, said Myriota team, and aligns with its mission “to democratise satellite access to deliver critical field-based monitoring solutions to a global market…”

Picture: credit AEA